Staircase Renovation Toronto provides hardwood stair recapping, carpet-to-hardwood stair conversions, stair refacing over painted wood and landing recaps throughout Toronto, ON, backed by 22 years of staircase work across the GTA. We pull the carpet, cut the old nose back flush, screw loose treads into the stringers and fit new hardwood caps from 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick in red oak, white oak or hard maple. Matching risers, scotia moulding and skirt trim finish the look. Every cap is cut in our Etobicoke shop to the exact width and depth of each step, then bonded with polyurethane construction adhesive and pinned. Colour is matched on site against your existing floor using stain samples. Pricing runs $2,800 to $6,500 for a standard 13-step staircase, and most jobs take three to five days.
A typical recap we see in Sunnylea: a 1950s storey-and-a-half with new oak floors downstairs and the original stairs still under carpet. The owners want the stairs to match without losing them for two weeks. We pull the carpet on day one, find spruce treads with a few loose ones, screw everything down, and cut red oak caps in the shop overnight. By day four the caps are in, stained to the floor sample they picked, with white risers and the old oak handrail cleaned up.
What Is Hardwood Stair Recapping?
Stair recapping, sometimes called stair refacing, covers each existing tread with a new hardwood cap and each riser with a new riser panel. The stringers and the structure underneath stay exactly where they are. It’s the middle ground between carpet and a full rebuild.
The work happens in a set order. We remove carpet, pad, tack strips and staples. We cut off the old rounded nose so the cap can sit flat against the riser. We screw down anything that moves, which is also when most squeaks get fixed. Then each cap is dry-fitted, glued with polyurethane construction adhesive and pinned. Risers go on last, followed by scotia or cove moulding under the nose and trim along the skirt boards.
Because the caps are cut to the measurements of each individual step, the gaps you often see with off-the-shelf retrofit treads don’t show up. Older GTA stairs are rarely perfectly square, so this matters more than people expect.
Types of Stair Recapping We Do
Carpet to hardwood recapping
The most requested job. Builder stairs in 1980s to 2000s homes in Mississauga, Markham, Newmarket and Brampton almost always hide spruce or plywood under the carpet. Recapping gives you a hardwood staircase that matches the new floors.
Painted stair refacing
Painted treads chip at the nose and show every scuff. We cap them in hardwood and paint the new risers, which keeps the painted look where people like it and puts wood where feet land.
Open-sided stairs with mitred returns
When one side of the staircase is open, each cap needs a return on the exposed end. These are mitred in the shop so the grain wraps around the corner.
Landings and winders
Landings get matching hardwood flooring and a landing nose. Pie-shaped winders are templated on site and cut individually.
Stair Recapping Cost Guide
Our band is $2,800 to $6,500 for a standard 13-step staircase. This table shows what pushes a job up or down.
| Cost factor | Toward $2,800 | Toward $6,500 |
|---|---|---|
| Stringer sides | Closed on both sides | Open side with mitred returns |
| Species | Red oak | White oak or hard maple |
| Risers | Painted white | Matching hardwood |
| Layout | Straight flight | Landing, winders or two flights |
| Finish | Pre-finished caps | Stained and finished on site |
| Prep | Painted wood, sound | Carpet, glued pad, loose treads |
Railings are priced separately. Iron balusters run $1,500 to $3,800 and a new wood stair railing run $1,200 to $3,500. Doing either with the recap saves a second setup.
When Do You Need Recapping Instead of a Rebuild?
Recapping is the right call when the stairs are solid but ugly. That’s most carpeted builder stairs. It’s the wrong call when:
- Treads crack, split or bow in the middle when you stand on them.
- The stringers have pulled away from the wall or dropped at the bottom.
- The rise varies by more than a small amount between steps.
- You want to change the layout, the rise and run, or remove a wall.
In those cases a cap only hides the problem for a while. A straight staircase renovation or full rebuild fixes it. If only a handful of treads are bad, stair tread replacement is often enough before recapping.
Recapping vs Vinyl Capping vs Refinishing
| Hardwood recapping | Vinyl capping | Refinishing existing wood | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $2,800 to $6,500 | $1,800 to $4,200 | Varies with condition |
| Works over spruce or plywood | Yes | Yes | No |
| Matches hardwood floors | Yes, stain matched | No | Only if already hardwood |
| Can be sanded later | Yes | No | Yes, limited |
| Moisture tolerance | Moderate | High | Moderate |
| Time on site | 3 to 5 days | About 1 day | 3 to 5 days |
If your floors are LVP, vinyl stair capping is usually the better match. If your stairs are already solid oak, ask us whether refinishing makes more sense.
Recapping and the Building Code
Recapping adds a small amount of height to every tread, so we check the first and last rise. Ontario Building Code Part 9 wants the rise to stay consistent from step to step, and a cap that makes the top step shorter than the rest is a trip hazard. We plan cap thickness around that at the estimate. The railing must still meet Ontario Building Code Section 3.4.6 for height after capping, which we measure before we start.
